Database Info

ADB Push. Why?

I tried searching for the answer, but I got lots of how to use ADB, What benefit is there to using the push command as opposed to using a file explorer if I'm doing something on the SD card? I get if you're dealing in system files, (AFAIK) you can't view those with a file browser on the computer, but if you are transferring an "update.zip" file, what benefits does adb push have?

Nothing wrong with just using a file explorer. However, adb push could be your only option if something screwed up and your screen stays black or something.

[Tutorial] Change the internal ringtones of your rom

After you have read and follow this tutorial, you will be able to do the following:
*Remove ringtones, alarms, and notification tones that you don't use
*Add your own ringtones, alarms, and notification tones that you WILL use
**This is not the same as downloading and using a ringtone from the internet, or wherever. Those methods allow the phone to play the file from your memory card. With this method, we are physically removing or adding directly in the ROM itself.
**Make a backup! I am NOT responsible for ANYTHING that YOU do.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Now, Let's proceed.
Alright... So you wanna do this, here is what you will need:
*ADB Installed and working
*Root Manager of some sort (I use Android Commander)
*Format Factory - This is freeware, so it's not warez.
Step 1. Download and install Format Factory. This is the program I use for everything. If you have one of your own preference, it can be substituted.
IMPORTANT: When installing Format Factory, choose CUSTOM install, and uncheck the toolbar boxes. Otherwise, you are gonna get toolbars installed. You have been warned.
Step 2. Open Format Factory and click "All to OGG", located under the "Audio" tab on the left. (OGG is universal from Android to Android. That's why this is the chosen option. Also, the sound quality is not noticeably different, and uses less space than an MP3)
Step 3. Now a new screen appears. Click "Add File", and navigate to your audio files that you want as ringtones, alarm, etc. Once selected, click "OK"
DO NOT CHANGE THE OGG SETTINGS. DEFAULT SETTINGS WORK FINE
Step 4. Now you should be back at your main window, as if you just started the program. You should now see your selected files listed in the right window of the program. On the top bar, click "Start."
**Once the conversion process is finished, you may close the program. By default, your saved files will go to documents/FFOutput
Step 5. Open your Root Explorer program, I use Android Commander
**In Android Commander, the left window is your PC, the right is your phone
Step 6. With your Root Explorer program, navigate to your newly created OGG files. Once you see them listed, select them. In Android commander, to select a file, you must put a check mark in the box associated with that file.
Step 7. Move these newly selected files to your phone, by clicking the "Copy" button above the left window in Android Commander. In the right window, you will want to make sure that you are within your "/system/media/***" folder, to insure these files are copied to the correct location.
Step 8. Reboot and test.
Please note: "***" represents the respective folders. i.e. "ringtones", "notifications", etc.
If you want to remove audio files that you do not use, just select them, and click "Delete" from within their respective folders, using Android Commander.
**Once they are deleted, if you have no backup, they are gone!
I hope this has helped some of you, who wish to do this. If it has, please click THANKS.
Constructive criticism is always welcome. any questions, just ask.

I would suggest backing up the first first...
adb pull /system/media media-backup
You could replace steps 5-8 with this if you know how to use adb.
From cmd prompt:
adb remount /system
adb push drive:\path\to\folder-with-oggs /system/media/(ringtones/alarms/ui)
adb reboot

Can I just ask what's the advantage of doing this versus using a tone off of your SD card? Seems like a lot of extra work.

designgears said:
I would suggest backing up the first first...
adb pull /system/media media-backup
You could replace steps 5-8 with this if you know how to use adb.
From cmd prompt:
adb remount /system
adb push drive:\path\to\folder-with-oggs /system/media/(ringtones/alarms/ui)
adb reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got that in the OP, to backup your stuff first. ..And thanks for the command prompt commands. I'll give those a shot.
harlenm said:
Can I just ask what's the advantage of doing this versus using a tone off of your SD card? Seems like a lot of extra work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The advantage to doing this is nothing more than getting rid of extra stuff on your phone. Once the files are converted, you can put them aside somewhere and always have them.
This is with the understanding that you already have these ringtones on your memory card... This is a way to get them off your memory card, and on your phone. This in turn keeps your memory card clean.
I personally like this, because the only stuff that is on my phone is what I use, and nothing more. Even programs I don't use, get stripped from whatever ROM I am using.
FUNCTION > FORM

Ty for ya time there TribalartGod.
Works well....AND i have been trying to find something like this android commander.
So double thanks to ya

tribalartgod said:
Got that in the OP, to backup your stuff first. ..And thanks for the command prompt commands. I'll give those a shot.
The advantage to doing this is nothing more than getting rid of extra stuff on your phone. Once the files are converted, you can put them aside somewhere and always have them.
This is with the understanding that you already have these ringtones on your memory card... This is a way to get them off your memory card, and on your phone. This in turn keeps your memory card clean.
I personally like this, because the only stuff that is on my phone is what I use, and nothing more. Even programs I don't use, get stripped from whatever ROM I am using.
FUNCTION > FORM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
android reads your sd card for media just like it does on the system partition.
if you wanna keep your sdcard clean of ringtones/alarms/notifications files
just make a folder on your sd card called media then create the other folders to mimic android's system partition.
so it would be
media/audio/alarms
media/audio/notifications
media/audio/ringtones
that way the media scanner has to do less searching
and if you have small system partitions like older phones this really helps to strip them out the rom and put them on the sd card.

Thx for the info. Works great for my wife's Samsung infuse. I rooted it but for some reason it wont let me set custom ringtones without loading a custom rom. So this method worked great to replace her ringtones on rooted stock rom. Unfortunately there really isn't a solid custom rom for the infuse with what I tested so far.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

Great tut. Ill keep it in mind as I normally just use a zip that drops my ringtones into the proper folder and deletes the ones I don't use. Or use root explorer to delete them if there are new ones not in my list.

Extract ringtones
After reading this i thought i could be able to extract ringtones from any rom from the system/media/ringtones/ but unfortunately i couldnt find any of them there.Where else could they be?

vinayakmt said:
After reading this i thought i could be able to extract ringtones from any rom from the system/media/ringtones/ but unfortunately i couldnt find any of them there.Where else could they be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no longer on this device...but what Rom are you trying to pull them from? I can still help. Pm me if need be
LG-P769 - Needs MIUI

I've been wondering how to do this. Now I have only my sd tones as I deleted the ones I didn't like (all of them moslty). Thanks!

Nice!
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda app-developers app

[Q] How to connect/access g2x thru computer

I have hellfire phoenix v1.9 running on my g2x. I wanted to add a ringtone from my computer into the g2x.
I have installed the android platform driver and then when I connect, I see drives E and F, but cannot explore them.
I searched and found a suggestion to turn on usb storage--but I find no options on the hellfire phoenix v1.9 to do this.
Also, toggling the usb debugging mode does not change anything.
All I am trying to do is to find the native ringtone folder and add my ringtone which I made in a .ogg format.
Please help

The simplest way for you to do this is put the file on your SD card and using either root explorer or ES file manager. You'll want to mount system as writeable via the settings and go to System\media\audio\ringtones\
Note you don't have to make the .ogg files it will still work with MP3's except alarms for some reason. You will also need to reboot before it shows up in your list.

Sorry, but I cannot understand when you say,
--You'll want to mount system as writeable via the settings and go to System\media\audio\ringtones\---
Is there a way to move this .ogg or .mp3 file into the ringtones folder (which exists in System\media\audio\ringtones. I can see all the ringtones once I use file explorer.
Even if I copy the file into a external sd, since it is not as intuitive as cut/copy and paste into the folder--how is this done.
What I was hoping was to be able to open this folder thru the computer when connected thru USB and just drag and drop it into the folder of ringtones. If this is not possible assuming the ringtone I want moved is called vintage.ogg , can this be done with ADB commands? Please help

sksriniv said:
Sorry, but I cannot understand when you say,
--You'll want to mount system as writeable via the settings and go to System\media\audio\ringtones\---
Is there a way to move this .ogg or .mp3 file into the ringtones folder (which exists in System\media\audio\ringtones. I can see all the ringtones once I use file explorer.
Even if I copy the file into a external sd, since it is not as intuitive as cut/copy and paste into the folder--how is this done.
What I was hoping was to be able to open this folder thru the computer when connected thru USB and just drag and drop it into the folder of ringtones. If this is not possible assuming the ringtone I want moved is called vintage.ogg , can this be done with ADB commands? Please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally it's read only, as in you can look but you can't touch. Writable means you write to it, you can alter or otherwise put information/files there.
And, yes it's as simple as copy and paste, unless you don't know what you're doing in the first place.
Using ES file explorer is the simplest method. Even if you use ADB you still would have to give it the command to mount the system as writable. If you Droid explorer you still need to have the system mounted as writable.

I don't know if it works on all roms, but Gingerbread based roms if you make a directory named ringtones in the Root of the SD card the phone should read it from there, or it does on mine.

Yes, I did everything--thought it was going to work, but it failed.
Steps I took--
Copied a sound.ogg file into the ext sdcard
Installed ES file explorer and under preferences set permissions to write (because I am rooted)
Copied the file from edt sd card
then switched to the systems\media\audio\ringtones folder, was able to see all the ringtones currently present.
Pasted my sound.ogg file---it said "multiple operations completed, but failed to paste sound.ogg Unclear why..
Should I have rebooted after setting permissions to write, before executing the copy and paste operation?
Thanks for the prior help--but need some more..

Use an app called software data cable......works like a charm.....remember u need to be on the same network......it uses FTP service.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

I use a really useful app called Airdroid which you can find on the Google market. It allows you to establish a Wifi connection through your computer's web browser to your phone. I then transfer whatever music, files, shows or anything I want through it.

Thanks everybody
Just followed my previous steps as outlined. Being a noob, I had to do things gingerly, not to screw up. As I guessed, I have to reboot, before the ability to write takes effect (on es file explorer). Then it is just a matter of copy and paste.
Thanks all

[Q] Titanium Backup folder not accessible via MTP, shows up as a file

I'm using Titanium Backup on the latest L Preview and while the apps and data get backed up fine, I'm unable to access this folder from the PC via MTP. In This PC\Nexus 5\Internal storage\storage\emulated\legacy, there is a blank icon file called TitaniumBackup, which is supposed to be a folder in which all the data is stored. Using ES File Explorer on the phone, I can see that the files are all stored in /sdcard/TitaniumBackup, but when I try to open that on the PC (This PC\Nexus 5\Internal storage\TitaniumBackup), the folder is empty.
Is there any security setting that causes this? How do I access the files in the folder from the PC?
UPDATE: I just used ES File Explorer to move all the files from /sdcard/TitaniumBackup into /sdcard/TitBac and I can now access these. I still think this is a workaround and that there has to be a better way to do this.

you could use "adb pull /sdcard/TitaniumBackup somefolder"
mtp is generally buggy for me, so i got used to adb push/pull

I'm having the EXACT same problem. Go to backup save location, and nothing but one 4.0 kb file. No backups. I can see them in ES, but I'm also having a separate issue writing to shared folders on my pc with ES. Can anyone provide some insight?

When you first plug the phone in, all folders appear as a file. It takes a bit for windows to determine their actual properties. Bigger folders take longer. So try waiting a bit. Otherwise try mtp in TWRP or adb pull as mentioned

This also just happened on the Galaxy SIII Intl with a recent OmniROM nightly. Now, prior to flashing Lollipop, I was running an Omni nightly on the Nexus 5 as well. Not sure if this has something to do with it...

DeGygii said:
you could use "adb pull /sdcard/TitaniumBackup somefolder"
mtp is generally buggy for me, so i got used to adb push/pull
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is worth a shot. I also just looked for some ADB-based file explorers and found a few, but one of them was abandoned and the other one requires GTK+ and building, so I'm wondering if you've got a personal favorite...
rootSU said:
When you first plug the phone in, all folders appear as a file. It takes a bit for windows to determine their actual properties. Bigger folders take longer. So try waiting a bit. Otherwise try mtp in TWRP or adb pull as mentioned
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure I waited a reasonable while before concluding this, but other than the Windows Explorer progress bar, there's really not much you get to go by. The Titanium Backup folder in question doesn't have too many files (~500) and I've had folders with images and videos (DCIM, mostly) with at least 5 times more files show up instantly. I don't think this is the issue, but I'll give it a try when I face this problem next.

Weird behaviour Copying ZIP to U11 from Windows Explorer

So, I was able to copy and paste all kind of files from Windows to the phone, but for some weird reason whenever It tries to copy over a Zip file it throws an error that the device is not responding, when it's not true, since I can cancel it, and then copy another file with a different extension.

You're not alone. I've had the same issue with larger zip files via USB. I got around the issue by either using an app that enables transfers via Wi-Fi, which is super convenient, or powering off and removing the SD card for direct file placement via adapter and and then reinserting the SD into the phone.
For what it's worth, I've experienced this on stock and on Viper U11.
-V
---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:10 AM ----------
You're not alone. I've had the same issue with larger zip files via USB. I got around the issue by either using an app that enables transfers via Wi-Fi, which is super convenient, or powering off and removing the SD card for direct file placement via adapter and and then reinserting the SD into the phone.
For what it's worth, I've experienced this on stock and on Viper U11.
-V

AllGamer said:
So, I was able to copy and paste all kind of files from Windows to the phone, but for some weird reason whenever It tries to copy over a Zip file it throws an error that the device is not responding, when it's not true, since I can cancel it, and then copy another file with a different extension.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can easily transfer zips and other files by being in bootloader mode and starting TWRP with "fastboot boot twrp.img" (doesn't install, just starts)
Be sure to say No to breaking System read-only status. Then copy all you want in either direction. Note that if file dates matter to you,
this process will date all files the date and time they are moved.

Vendetta-NY said:
You're not alone. I've had the same issue with larger zip files via USB. I got around the issue by either using an app that enables transfers via Wi-Fi, which is super convenient, or powering off and removing the SD card for direct file placement via adapter and and then reinserting the SD into the phone.
For what it's worth, I've experienced this on stock and on Viper U11.
-V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup, i'm also on Viper ROM.
I do use WiFi transfer for small files, but when I want to transfer 50 GB worth of mixes files (Titanium Backup, ISO, ZIP, MP3, Videos, lots of other random files)... I'll prefer the USB3 way as it's waaay faster.
it's such a PITA to have to resort to alternate slower transfer options for zip files.
I ponder if there's a way to override whatever security is in place to allow Zip files.

michaelbsheldon said:
You can easily transfer zips and other files by being in bootloader mode and starting TWRP with "fastboot boot twrp.img" (doesn't install, just starts)
Be sure to say No to breaking System read-only status. Then copy all you want in either direction. Note that if file dates matter to you,
this process will date all files the date and time they are moved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks that's a good alternative.
I guess I could live with a different time / date stamp.